


Bedtime Stories

by Kazimir



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Fluff, Gen, Sleepiness, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5732827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazimir/pseuds/Kazimir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The teenaged Reader spends their first night on Mother Base after being brought from Africa with Eli. The Reader is far too nervous to sleep, but the soft-hearted Kazuhira Miller is always there to help.</p>
<p>((Teenage/young Reader and adult Kaz Miller/ Not romantic or sexual))</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bedtime Stories

Your door opened quietly. You peeked into the hallway of the Child's Quarters.

You didn't exactly belong in these quarters, at least you thought, being a teenager, but you were happy to be able to stay close to the child soldiers, specifically your good friend Eli. Although you were grateful to be able to at least be in close proximity to Eli and the others, it didn't ease your mind very much. After being forced out of the African village you called home, or Base, as Eli would like to say, for just a few weeks by a mercenary group known as "Diamond Dogs" you were thrust into life on their strange literally-middle-of-nowhere mother base, and this was your first night.

You looked around the hallway cautiously, worried about the well-being of both yourself and the children, who, given your position in the group of Eli's soldiers as a sort of older sister to the rowdy younger boys, you felt a sort of responsibility to care for, on a base with innumerable adults of unknown morality. You felt a tinge of worry when you noticed a man near the entrance/exit of the hall. He didn't hear you open your door just enough to peek out, or if he did he was pretending to not have, so you thought it safe to study him. He was sitting, a crutch in his left hand, aviator glasses, a beret, and a light brown trench coat. It took you a moment, but you thought you recognized his outfit. You were pretty sure that he was there when Eli and yourself had arrived earlier that day and were brought into a medical office for mandatory check-ups. Although you were more focused on Eli and his resistance to those poor medical officers at the time, you could have sworn that you saw that man there at some point, talking to the doctors and gesturing to the two of you a few times. You had guessed that he may have been the one in charge of the children, but you weren't sure, as you didn't hear a word of his discussion with the doctors. The positive side of you wanted to believe that this was the reason why there was a grown man in the Children's Quarters where you slept in the middle of the night, but it didn't ease your mind.

"Is everything alright?" A surge of shock and surprise ran through you for a second, thinking the man never noticed you. In the dim light that they kept on in the hallway at night you could see that he had turned his head to face you. What surprised you the most was his expression. He seemed... genuinely concerned. Not exactly a look of worry, but an expression that seemed ready to tend to any issue you had, or even comfort you through the anxiety of being thrown into a new place. You wanted to retreat back into your room, but the seemingly kind man in the hallway made you curious, and having any sort of familiarity or alliance here, aside from the hot-headed Eli who seemed to have been worked near into a frenzy from just having to stay here, was an attractive thought. You gathered your courage and opened your door wider, stepping into the hallway fully.

"Yeah." You said simply, trying to a get a better sense of the man.

"You really should be asleep, then, I'm sure it was a long day for you." He spoke softly, and you liked his voice, and you knew that he was right, but you also knew that you weren't able to sleep that night, and that you wanted to at least try to learn a bit about the man. You shrugged and walked towards him slowly, not wanting to seem malicious like Eli, nor wanting to be unprepared for the off chance that he may be the malicious one. He smiled very slightly, sweetly, and turned his head forward once again. You decided to take a seat a few feet to the side of his chair, on the floor. Being close to the man made you feel calm, and you honestly liked it. You spent a few minutes just trying to think of what to say to learn more about him.

"(Y/N), right?" He began. You weren't yet back to being used to being referred to by your first name rather than your nom de guerre. He layed his crutch across his lap and stuck out his hand, you had to shuffle forward a bit to reach it. "I'm Kazuhira Miller." He said, smiling brighter as you gently shook his much-bigger gloved hand. His name struck you as odd for a tall blonde man, but you were glad to at least have something to talk about now. 

"Kazuhira? Isn't that Japanese?" He seemed quite happy to just have you talking, and he replied once again with his soft and tender tone. You guessed that this isn't how he spoke around the other soldiers.

"That's right. I was born there, and my mother was Japanese. It means peace, however ironic that may be." The last line was said with a bit of humour, and him opening up to you like that so quickly made you feel even better about the man. You carried the conversation on with some simple information on the meaning of your name, as well as the country you were born in. He told you that he thought your name suited you and seemed, to your delight, perfectly comfortable with you addressing him as "Kazuhira". 

Soon enough, at your curious urging, Kazuhira was telling you all about Japan. He touched on most things, people, wildlife, stores, clothes, urban legends, but the subject you seemed to be most intrigued by, and thus he spoke about the most was food. Eventually, you found yourself eager to try the foreign meals, snacks and desserts, but also tired from all the conversation. Soon the conversation turned from a 2 sided eager conversation and lesson on Japanese cuisine to you leaning against one of Kazuhira's legs and fighting the urge to sleep. He noticed your exhaustion and, instead of helping you fight it, seemed to want to help sleep consume you. He offered to recite some Japanese poetry that he remembered from his childhood and, not wanting to miss hearing such an interesting language being spoken, you happily accepted. 

He softly spoke the words that you didn't understand. His voice and the language were so gentle that it soothed you as he hummed the words on slowly and quietly. Before you knew it, the comfort provided by Kazuhira had you falling into a deeper, more peaceful sleep that you had ever had in Africa.


End file.
